Caring about and with Imaginary Characters: Early Childhood Playworlds as Sites for Social Sustainability

• Published in: Sustainability Vol. 14; no. 9; p. 5533
• Main Authors: Lecusay, Robert, Rainio, Anna Pauliina, Ferholt, Beth
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.05.2022
• Subjects: Adults; Bias; Children; Children & youth; Collaboration; Education; Imagination; Narratives; Research projects; Social sustainability; Society; Sustainability; Teachers; play; inclusion; social sustainability; playworlds; participatory design research; cultural historical activity theory; early childhood education and care; imagination; care

We investigate the concept of care in adult-child joint play through two cases that illustrate ways in which the development of care relations among researchers, pedagogues, and children—and the imaginary characters they create through their joint play—shape and sustain early childhood education and...